Page 74 of Caveman Alien's Bride

Before I know it, the yellow reeds are in front of us.

“Open for Korr’ax and Bryar,” Korr’ax yells.

A man looks down on us from the watchtower. One gate opens, while the other stays shut.

We walk in. Some men look up, but nobody comes to meet us.

“Don’t they see you as chief anymore?” I ask.

“They don’t,” Korr’ax says flatly. “The tribe made it clear to me that night that if I left the village in a time of war, I could not be chief of the Borok. Not only did I leave the village, I also broughtyouback. The tribe doesn’t like that.”

I look up at him. “So you had already made your choice when you came to get me? But you didn’t let me know that. You made me think you could still return to be chief here. You wanted me to choose freely.”

“It seemed the right thing to do,” Korr’ax says with a little smile. “I forced you the first time. This time, there should be no hint of any force of any kind. And anyway, I’m still the chief of the Tretter. But not for much longer. Ah, tribesman Supot’ez! Did you and the men finish the ditches that I ordered you to dig, to protect the village from Krast attacks?”

“We did, Chi— tribesman. And no Krast attack has come.”

“Good. There is a small Krast camp about a thousand paces to the north. Please inform Chief Breti’ax that I am here and that I ask to be allowed to spend the night— oh, never mind. There heis now.”

21

- Korr’ax -

Breti’ax comes walking on stiff, old legs.

“Greetings, Chief Korr’ax of the Tretter tribe,” he creaks. “And Woman Bryar. I must state that bringing an agent of Darkness into the Borok village is not permitted.”

“First, Bryar is not an agent of Darkness,” I state. “Look at her! She’s sheer light and beauty! The idea is silly, Chief Breti’ax. Second, as a member of the Borok tribe I ask to be allowed one last night in the safety of the village. I ask the same for Bryar, my wife.”

“In view of your great services to the Borok tribe, Chief Korr’ax,” Breti’ax says immediately, “you shall both be shown every courtesy of the tribe. Your old cave is available for you, and we shall have a special meal tonight, in your honor.”

“We both thank the Borok tribe for its kindness.”

His official duties done, Breti’ax grabs my upper arm. “You will leave us, then? The woman is more important than the tribe?”

“It’s a heart-rendingly hard choice,” I tell him. “But it’s not adifficultone. No man should need to choose between his tribe and his wife. I fully accept that I had to, as the only married man on Xren.”

“The tribe will be…” Breti’ax begins, then has to stop to collect himself. “It will be a lesser tribe,” he finishes, voice brittle.

“Let’s hope not, Chief! Still there will be friendship with the Tretter tribe. There will be peace with the Krast, now that no tribe has a woman. The picture of Piper on our totem wall will still strike awe into the heart of every tribesman and visitor!”

“True,” Breti’ax says. “We owe you a great deal. Now I will order food prepared. I can see you both have a hard night behind you.” He walks on.

Bryar and I sit down by the totem wall. Piper is looking down on us with her hard, blue eyes, her hair like a fire around her head.

Bryar nods to the picture. “Will they really leave it like that?”

“They will leave it and refresh it when needed. Pictures on the totem wall are for eternity and may not be wiped off.”

Bryar looks around the village. “You giving up a lot, Korr’ax. You can still change your mind.”

“Any other choice would mean giving up much more.”

“You don’t think they’ll change their minds? About me, I mean.”

I sigh deeply. “The tribesmen are certain that you are an agent of Darkness. The way things have happened, nothing I can say will change their minds. And they don’t even know that you were brought here by the Plood. If they’d knownthat, they would never have allowed you into the village at all.”

“And the Tretter tribe?”

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